April 2nd, 2024 —
We awoke on the first full day of our trip feeling like kids again, Santa had come last night…it was Christmas morning. The Old Course at St. Andrew’s was the natural centerpiece of the trip, but 36 holes at The West Link at North Berwick on this Tuesday in April may have been the most anticipated day of the trip. We scrounged up any clothes that were lucky enough to dry over night and headed to the clubhouse in search of a warmth and a good meal – luckily we found both, along with a Guinness and a heck of a view. Contrary to the stuffy country club atmosphere that unfortunately has become so normal among many clubs in US, Scotland clubs welcome weary strangers with open arms. They even have a sign that states “your green fee ticket entitles you to temporary membership.” Next, a classic Scottish gentleman manning the clubhouse doors was ready to proudly show off the beautiful amenities and explain the history of the club.
Leaving just enough time to rifle through the pro shop, we headed to the first tee praying the weather would stay the way it was – cold and windy but with no rain on the forecast we would gladly take it.
Unlike Dunbar, the West Links is no “hidden gem.” Its natural quirk mixed with a world class back nine has it ranked as high as 32nd in the world on some lists and it doesn’t take long to see why. The 1st tee at North Berwick encapsulates the character of the course immediately, complimented with an incredible view of the coast line.
The “drive” on this standard length par 4 is far from your typical first tee shot. Depending on the wind you could be hitting as little as 9 iron to lay up short of the enormous rocky outcropping just short of the green.
The second is a blind approach up over the hill using the directional pole in the background to gather some sense of where the flag may be. Growing up on the east coast of the USA blind shots in New England meant lost balls and frustration, but boy are things different in Scotland. We all agreed, “I never thought I could have so much fun hitting blinds shots.” Hiking up the rocks you find the one of a kind green site. A massive putting surface perched above the North Sea, we had hit 2 shots each and we knew this was going to be a special special day.
The 1st is followed up by an equally impressive 2nd with the tee box mere steps off the back of the 1st green. From there you hit diagonally over the beach which lines the entire right side of the hole.
Don’t worry though if you pull it, the beach is in play. It also makes for a delightful walk.
The 3rd, playing into the wind on this day, requires a long approach shot over an ancient wall, an obstacle that just isn’t all that common any where else in the world. And just like that we had played three holes and hit shots that we had never even dreamt of before – lucky for us it would only get better.
A four hole stretch from 8-11 boasts three par 5’s, an incredibly fun downhill par 3, and a view to write home about. Among the group we made 5 birdies in 4 holes, I don’t care who you are, birdies are fun. Making the turn to the back nine you also make the very literal turn back toward the clubhouse and quickly encounter the single most fun golf hole I’ve ever played – and in my opinion the best closing stretch of golf in the world (how many courses can say their “closing stretch” starts on the 13th hole. The only way to properly pay homage to this 6 hole stretch is to walk through it hole by hole.
#13 “The Pit” – a fairly standard tee shot with the beach all down the left, the tendency is to blow it right, making your second into this world class green site that much more difficult. Falling into this trap I blew my tee shot way right, inevitably pulled my second right again – the beach had gotten the best of me twice already. Now I was left with a delicate chip over the wall and into the postage stamp sized “pit” – up and down here was all I could ever ask for. As you can probably tell from the excess of pictures, we couldn’t get enough of this hole.
#14 “Perfection” – The 14th is appropriately named perfection for the simple reason that it requires two perfect shots. From the tee the fairway appears as narrow as a small town Scottish alley. The approach is no easier, especially visually. A massive dune blocks your view of the green, again having to use a directional pole as a visual guide. A climb up the dune reveals another magnificent green and creates an approach shot that is truly exhilarating to hit.
#15 “Redan” – One of the most widely copied template holes in the world, the redan at North Berwick was the first of its kind and the most copied hole here at the West Links. A green so massive and contoured that the camera couldn’t possibly capture it. Here is our best efforts to do so.
#16 “Gate” – The 16th is home to the most absurd green any of us had ever seen. An early example of a “Biarritz,” this approach shot is both terrifying and wonderful in every way. After playing it, the story of Phil Mickelson driving it pin high and walking away with a 6 is all the more believable.
#17 “Point Garry In” – Similar to the 14th, the 17th has a blind second up over a huge trench bunker cut into an enormous dune that yet again completely hides the green. However on this rendition, the approach shot was a 4 iron rather than a wedge.
#18 “Home” – As the North Berwick website states “After an unrelenting assault for most of the back nine the course cuts us some slack with a genuinely easy finishing hole.” My only change would be “fun” rather than “easy.” A true 3.5 shotter, this classic closing hole is modeled after the 18th at the Old Course and contains an equally dramatic valley of sin just short of the green. For 9 holes now the town of North Berwick has gotten closer with each shot and blasting a drive from the elevated 18th tee box into the town sky line is the perfect crescendo.
After a brilliant round in the morning with all four golfers firing rounds in the 70’s, thanks in large part to the careful guidance of our caddies, we had just enough time for a beer before we jogged back over to the first tee.
With Dunbar as a “warmup” round this was the first of our Best of 5 Match Play series. Mark and Phil took the morning session at North Berwick 2 & 1 thanks to an unrelenting dose of ham and eggs down the stretch. In the afternoon we headed back out with the sole intention of enjoying the genius of the golf course. To take the grind out of tallying every stroke, we played three different team games, each 6 holes long. In typical Scottish fashion we followed lunch with foursomes, next was 6 holes of scramble format, and last we all decided we wanted to play our own ball for the famous closing stretch. Standing on 17 tee 2 down, Tim and I staged and clutch comeback. I made an unlikely 18 footer to save par and extend the match on 17 and shortly after my partner birdied 18 for the second time this day to ensure a halve of the match and avoid going 0-2 on the day.
All in all it was a “banner day” as the NLU boys would say. Our spirits were sky high, our clothes were dry as the rain had held off, and the beers went down easy that night as we recounted the day shot by glorious shot. North Berwick had provided us with a day that we would never forget, and somehow there would be more of those to come.
–Luke